


The Whole Picture

by Alielea



Series: L and Light are Pretty (tm) [2]
Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Death Note, Alternate Universe - Yagami Light Is Not Kira (Death Note), Autistic L (Death Note), Beta L's design, Character Study, Jealous L (Death Note), L is a Little Shit (Death Note), M/M, No Dialogue, No Sex, Not Beta Read, Sex is mentioned, Trans L, Trans L (Death Note), kind of, lawlight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27586489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alielea/pseuds/Alielea
Summary: Light prided himself on being detail-oriented. He prided himself on picking up on small details and cues that often escaped others. He’d aced tests that hindered on details in whatever text they were reading while the rest of his class barely managed to scrape by.You don’t become the top student in the nation by looking at the big picture.No. You became the top student by picking apart the big picture- taking in the brush strokes that made up each individual detail on the picture.Without his consent, L had become that picture.
Relationships: L & Yagami Light, L/Yagami Light
Series: L and Light are Pretty (tm) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016548
Comments: 3
Kudos: 89





	The Whole Picture

**Author's Note:**

> This is just word vomit, sorry.  
> My ADD said, "Go off, kween".

Light prided himself on being detail-oriented. He prided himself on picking up on small details and cues that often escaped others. He’d aced tests that hindered on details in whatever text they were reading while the rest of his class barely managed to scrape by. 

You don’t become the top student in the nation by looking at the big picture.

No. You became the top student by picking apart the big picture- taking in the brush strokes that made up each individual detail on the picture. 

Without his consent, L had become that picture. 

As a whole, he was egocentric, childish, and arrogant. Closed to any suggestions that didn’t match his own analysis of the situation. Too caught up in being right to worry about morality and too prideful to accept any outside opinions once he made up his mind. 

However, even L had those small details that shone through whatever persona he entertained for the time being. He likely didn't even notice many of these things. Otherwise, as with everything else, he’d go to extreme lengths to cover them up. 

L was a very private person. Almost to the point of being paranoid. Even when he claimed to be exposing his entire being to the Taskforce, there were certain details he went to lengths to hide to conceal his identity. 

Maybe it gave him a feeling of control in the situation to have small details hidden away.

There were some things he couldn’t control. Such as the fact that L, despite being Half-Japanese, spoke Japanese the way an Englishman would. His accent matched Watari’s more than it matched anyone else assigned to the Taskforce. 

But what he could control, he heavily controlled down to the last detail. 

His height was always very controlled, hovering around his height when he was hunched over. Light had always attributed his poor posture to years of being hunched over his desk, years of obsessing over whatever case had been presented to him by Watari or by the NPA. It wasn’t until months later he saw L’s true height. 

It was a slip, early in the morning, before he should be awake, back to L, scrolling through many emails when the bed moved beside him. He’d turned over to greet him- coming to face L’s back- sitting up and rubbing at his shoulders as though the action pained him. He’d stood to his full height, stalking to the shower. 

He had to be at least six foot. Maybe taller. 

It was such a small detail he’d gone to such lengths to hide even from him. 

His legs were long, he’d known that since their first meeting, when L had been curled up, lanky legs pulled up to his chest, leaning over on the balls of his feet. He’d learned that several times when lanky legs would settle across his own hips. His arms were much longer than his as well, fingers long and spidery that trembled when he was overly tired. When he really wanted to, it was very easy for L to keep things out of his reach.

Light never mentioned it.

He did, however, mention his hair. He mentioned the way it curled after sex. Matted to the back of his neck only to come up with small, wispy curls at the back of his neck. L had, initially, been very conscious of these curls. He’d moved a hand back once Light had mentioned them- batting at the hand that had been slowly pulling them out only to let them bounce back into place. 

Come to find, L’s hair was wavier, rather than curly. 

Come to find, he was one of only one other person to know such a small detail about him.

As time went on, there were more things he began to uncover about L. 

L spoke to himself. Soft, monotonous mumbles that were very easy to be drowned out by the hum of a computer. However, in rare momentary lapses of silence, he would hear that low mumble- catching L’s lips barely moving as he walked himself through his cases.

L frequently walked himself through things. It was methodical. From cases that balanced someone’s life and someone’s death to making coffee in the morning. It was about routine and a sense of control over whatever the situation may be. 

Control was something L strived for. 

In moments where he felt control was slipping, it was easy to see the frustration that crossed his face. His brows would knit together and his lips would purse for just a second- long enough for someone looking for any signs of frustration to find them, but too short for a single glance to pick up. 

L was much more emotional than he was given credit for.

He had a horrible temper. A very soft, horrible temper.

He couldn’t stand being ignored. He couldn’t stand being interrupted by those he deemed as being less intelligent than he was, and therefore, inferior. His fists would tighten up a just a touch and the telltale look of frustration would ghost across his face. 

He made it very clear that there was no room for idiocy in his presence. 

However, his temper was reserved for adults. 

When in the midst of a heated discussion following a case, Mello had raised his voice- raised his hands in frantic gestures, demanding to be heard despite his contradictory theory to both Near’s and L’s- Light had expected to see L’s temper flare up at both being contradicted and being interrupted.

However, rather than the anger he’d expected, L’s face remained calm. Eyes cold in a familiar way, the corner of his lips relaxed.

No signs of frustration ever passed L when he was with children, be those children he’d encountered on a case or his own successors. 

L was better with children than he’d let on. 

It made sense.

L was childish. 

Light prided himself on seeing past the full picture, past the small details that caught others off guard. He prided himself on looking past the title of the World’s Greatest Detective. He’d looked past the small, often puzzling details. Instead, he focused on what made up those details. He looked at the small details that made up who L was. Past the small, controlled details that L sought so heavily to regulate.

Light prided himself on seeing who L truly was.

**Author's Note:**

> Instagram: @Bit.Bugg  
> Comments appreciated <3


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